Nicole Vasconcelos

September 21, 2014

Intro to Music Ed.
ID: 3317831
Observation at E.W Stirrup Elementary School

Scherkers approach to teaching music is noticeably different from Cathys approach to teaching
children music
o Gives lectures instead of giving children basic instruction and singing rote songs
o Uses piano while Cathy refuses to use it
Cathy may use a tuning fork if needed.
o Taught rhythm first instead of matching pitches
o Points out good/bad behavior when Cathy opposes to it.
He moves quickly through the lesson, giving instructions and corrections to the children in
between
o Jumped from teaching solfeggio to directing their attention to the board while telling
them to take out their notebooks. Children began to follow his instructions before he
was able to finish giving them completely. He would then call for their attention to finish
giving his instruction.
o Transitions from one activity to another are not smooth. Children lose focus while he
gives instructions. Cathy transitions without any instructions. Just goes right to the next
thing.
Taught solfeggio with hand signs.
Symbols were used as a prop to expose children to the instrument.
o Previously used snare and bass drum as examples.
Played Tchaikovskys 4th symphony as a musical example of symbols.
o Tchaikovsky was the composer of the week. He gave a short biography of who he was
and what he did.
o Symbols are clearly heard at the beginning of the piece. He describes the sound the
symbols make and demonstrates the symbol. He then played the piece and asked the
children to listen for the symbol.
Lectured on what a symphony is and asked students questions immediately after his lecture
o Asked students to raise their hands to answer the question
o Cathy always asks them to think before they raise their hands. Scherker expected an
instant answer. Same children continued to raise their hands, giving less time for the
other children to think and formulate their possible answers. (Exactly what Cathy tries
to avoid by asking them to think and keep their hands down until they are sure!)
Frequently used a reward/praise method

Student of the week was determined by who did their work and who behaved the best.
He explained if there were two people who did the same, they were put into a jar and
randomly selected. Student who is chosen is given a special chair and certificate.
o A point out student is doing what she/he is supposed to be doing.
Cathy opposes to this method because she believes telling a child theyre
blank makes them feel like they always have to be blank(smart, pretty,
good, bad, lazy, etc.)
Used the buddy system for students in need of translators or extra help
o Worked effectively. Gave those children a better chance of participating in class.
Used rhythm sticks to teach children how to play quarter and half notes
o Took too long. Children seem to have lost interest by the end of that activity.
o Schuler took away a child rhythm sticks because the child was acting up. Returned the
sticks once the child seemed ready to pay attention
Worked effectively without having to tell the child youre misbehaving. This is
your punishment.
Children were taught to clap with their feet the way orchestral performs do
o It seemed unnecessary. Children lost focus for a bit. Took him a while to regain their
focus.
Children were given instructions to put away their rhythm sticks and open their books to get
ready to sing
o While giving those instructions, they began to do as they were told before he was done.
Had to regain their focus to finish the instructions
They reviewed a song they began learning the week before. Scherker accompanied them on
piano.
o Children were reading lyrics from a book. Cathy echo teaches lyrics
o Children were matching pitch with the piano and with Scherker
o Scherker switched from playing the melody and/or the accompany part while trying to
get the children to match pitch
Not many of them were able to match pitch yet. They seemed to focus on the
words instead of listening to the melody being played on piano and/or sung by
Scherker. Eventually the children were able to follow along.